Conquer Europe from the West

Chapter 128 Britain! Now it's time to betray our allies!
Churchill's speech sounded quite good to most people.

After all, for the past few centuries since the United Kingdom rose to power, they have been almost constantly exporting their extremely peculiar, despicable, and self-deceptive Anglo-Saxon barbarian ideology to the world.

However, considering that some of the things they produce do contain only literal good words, their words may seem to make some sense to people with weaker cognitive abilities.

And it is precisely because such people are everywhere in the world that when Churchill said, "We must consider the serious consequences of the current war in Europe," many members of the United Kingdom's parliament, plus a very small number of representatives of the Empire, nodded silently.

Raine heard the Emperor instruct General Draven to memorize those names, but he had no idea how the Emperor could see those guys nodding.

Of course, it doesn't matter.

What matters is what Churchill said next.

He stood there, facing Ryan, then turning to everyone around him.

"As the Prime Minister of the Kingdom."

“I reached an agreement with His Majesty the King on the opinions of this meeting long before it began.”

He looked at Ryan, only to find Ryan raising one eyebrow, as if to say, "Go on."

This made Churchill swallow hard.

He coughed twice to bolster his courage and clear his throat.

"The Kingdom's government and cabinet can propose any corresponding terms equal to those of the Empire in relation to the treaty for building a friendly and peaceful future with the Empire."

Raine immediately seized on the wording of his statement: "Your Excellency the Chancellor, may I ask what you mean by 'equal to the Empire'?"

The BBC-style surprise questioning caught Churchill completely off guard.

The words he had just prepared were swallowed back, his old face flushed slightly, and he looked at Renn. After stammering for a while, he finally said, "That is to say, whatever proposal the Empire is willing to put forward, the Kingdom will also put forward the same proposal in response. This reflects the Kingdom's equal attitude of treating all countries equally, and it is also a major sacrifice we have made to create a peaceful future."

Sharp and insightful remarks.

Ryan narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Churchill, already understanding what kind of nonsense the old man was spouting.

After the Empire had previously set its conditions, Ryan used three countries to limit Churchill's scope of speech.

Now, Churchill is using the words "treat everyone equally" and "equal" to glorify the peace treaty with the Empire as a way to make it seem like he can sign a peace treaty with any country that is willing to maintain a state of peace.

Moreover, this move also defused the trap that Rein had previously set for the kingdom, which involved a dialogue about equality between the two countries.

It's fair to say that only a seasoned politician could utter such words.

However, Renn was not worried.

Because he knew that the kingdom was not the kind of entity willing to negotiate with other countries on an equal footing.

The reason is very simple.

In this world, might makes right.

If I can kill you with one punch, why should I reason with you?
The kingdom's logic of action clearly does not go beyond this scope.

Therefore, Ryan immediately prepared to allow Churchill to perform at his best.

He said directly, "In that case, Your Excellency the Prime Minister."

"If that's the case, then I think the Empire and the United Kingdom can save themselves from so many lengthy negotiations later on."

A faint sound immediately came from the seat of the United Kingdom.

The councilors all turned to look at Ryan, wondering what he was going to say.

But Churchill already knew.

He immediately realized something was wrong and was about to speak when Ryan beat him to it with the microphone.

As he took the documents that the Emperor's official hurriedly handed him, Raine made a gesture as if to hand them to Churchill: "I believe that Your Excellency the Chancellor can immediately ask His Majesty the King to prepare for signing. There are two documents here, one beginning with the Empire and already signed by His Majesty the Emperor, and the other beginning with the United Kingdom. As long as His Majesty the King signs them, the treaty will take effect immediately."

He spoke in perfect Mandarin, just as before.

Unlike before, when Ryan said this, it clearly aroused the dissatisfaction of a large number of members of parliament.

However, they were not the great nobles of those kingdoms, but rather the councilors who were determined to maintain peace with the empire and refuse to go to war.

Churchill and Asquith both noticed this.

They were surprised that Ryan would abandon the persona he had carefully built up, but they didn't let their guard down at all.

Those who are able to stand on stage and speak on behalf of a country are no ordinary people.

Unfortunately, Renn had already anticipated their intentions.

From the very beginning, the Empire had no intention of actually signing a non-aggression pact with the United Kingdom.

All of Raine's actions were aimed at provoking the United Kingdom's fragile nerves as much as possible, while ensuring that the Kingdom would not immediately turn against them and declare war.

Clearly, Churchill and Asquith did not realize this.

After a brief exchange of glances, the two prime ministers immediately understood each other and reached an agreement.

"I'm very sorry, Colonel Frieze."

Churchill placed one hand on his chest and said very politely, "The Kingdom cannot accept the request that the Colonel just made at this time."

He used the term "colonel" to directly separate the Empire from Rennes, intending to suggest that Rennes was not qualified to represent the Empire in demanding that the Kingdom sign a treaty.

But he forgot one thing—the king's and Renn's swords were placed side by side at that moment.

Therefore, Ryan almost immediately looked at the two swords, drawing the reporters' attention to them.

He took back the two documents and said in a regretful tone, "Since Your Excellency the Prime Minister refuses, I will not insist any further."

This set of moves was so smooth that even the most cunning and treacherous Asquith thought that Rein had finished his move and there was nothing more to come.

Until he heard Ryan's next words.

"As a soldier, I sincerely hope that the Kingdom and the Empire can sign a peace treaty of non-aggression as soon as possible, so that the soldiers of both countries can, like twenty years ago, take shelter from the rain under the same roof, drink in the same bar, and sail on the same sea."

Asquith was greatly alarmed upon hearing this statement.

He realized that Ryan was deliberately shifting the topic to the military.

And this is precisely the place the kingdom least wants to mention.

Because the Kingdom's councilors are different from the Empire's, very few of them come from military backgrounds; most councilors only see the military as a tool to protect the Kingdom's interests overseas.

This was especially true for someone like Churchill who lacked experience of fighting alongside his comrades in the army.

On the surface, Raine was talking about the military, but in reality, he was talking about how the kingdom would protect its interests overseas!

It can be said that Raine's fundamental purpose was to induce Churchill and most of the members of parliament to worry about their overseas interests, making them think that the Empire would choose to go to war with the Kingdom in the colonies.

This forced Churchill to immediately steer the conversation back to the topic of the treaty signing in order to calm the members of parliament down.

This would obviously provoke the vast majority of members of parliament, as well as Churchill himself.

But the problem is.

Although Asquith understood what Ryan meant, he couldn't understand why Ryan would do such a thing.

After all, in his previous discussions with Churchill, the conclusion was that the Kingdom should support the Empire and allocate a portion of Farland's rights to the Empire in order to build initial bilateral trust.

As the prime minister of a bandit-like nation accustomed to taking things from other countries as their own, neither Asquith nor Churchill realized there was anything wrong with the plan.

They never imagined that this was exactly what Ryan was after.

Even before he learned about the negotiations with the Kingdom, Renn had guessed that the United Kingdom would definitely protect itself by betraying the interests of its allies.

This tactic was very popular during negotiations between major powers in the past, and the most humiliating histories of small and weak countries were often born from this.

As the inheritor of five thousand years of civilization, Renn was born with a deep aversion to this behavior.

Therefore, he understood better than anyone that once the United Kingdom proposed a plan to betray the interests of its allies in order to gain the favor and trust of the Empire, it would inevitably provoke a fierce attack from Farland and the Empire as long as the Empire agreed!
Of course, the Empire was not actually worried about the vengeful actions of Farland and the Imperial State.

Because under the current circumstances, no matter what Farland and the Empire do, they cannot shake the Empire's current battle lines.

But this was a war of resistance against aggression in which the empire was in the position of victim.

Once the Empire agrees to a treaty in which the United Kingdom betrays its allies, the Empire will completely lose its position as the righteous "victim of invasion."

The entire war will also change from a war of aggression unilaterally launched by France to a hegemonic war in which various world powers fight each other for their own interests, due to the Empire's actions in colluding with the United Kingdom to divide the interests of other countries.

Raine would never allow the Empire to be dragged into a dog-eat-dog war.

Therefore, he must do everything in his power to nip any potential developments that could lead the war in this direction. No matter what!

And at the same time.

Across from Renn, Churchill, who had only guessed half of Renn's thoughts, said directly: "The Kingdom's government shares the same view on what the Colonel just said."

"We also hope that the soldiers of both sides can raise a glass together, but the kingdom believes that this requires the victors of this Imperial-French War to show the attitude they deserve as winners."

coming!

A glint of light flashed in Raine's eyes.

He looked at Churchill, a faint, cold smile playing on his lips.

Asquith looked at Renn in confusion, completely baffled as to why Renn's expression had changed so drastically.

The kingdom's hegemonic consciousness was thoroughly etched into the souls of him, Churchill, the king, and all the people of the kingdom.

But in Rennes' view...

Now is the perfect time for the kingdom to pay the price for the many atrocities it has committed in the past!
He began by asking, "Attitude? What is attitude?"

He further stated, "In this war, the Empire, as the invaded party, suffered countless deaths and injuries, and to this day has still not heard a single apology from Farland."

"In the Battle of Verdun just half a month ago, more than 3,000 of our soldiers died protecting their homeland and now lie forever in the soil of Verdun."

"As one of the commanders of the campaign, I couldn't sleep every night because of my weakness in not daring to tell those poor parents that their sons had died. Every midnight I could see the souls of my men wandering in the wilderness and on the battlefield, and every morning I was awakened by their cries."

"They should have lived in a free and peaceful world, born and raised like their parents and ancestors, living as farmers, workers, teachers, and all sorts of other professions, and peacefully returning to the embrace of the goddess surrounded by their descendants."

"But now, for their country and for their families, they die in foreign lands and can never return to the land of their birth."

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, may I ask, what attitude should the Empire adopt towards the world in order to obtain the peace you desire?"

Even with his eyes bloodshot, Renn's voice remained unusually calm.

He stood here as a soldier, an officer, on the land of the United Kingdom, questioning the man who had never personally experienced a war of national defense.

To his right sat countless imperial soldiers, just like him, who had lost their men and their families.

They sat there without making a sound.

But those heavy breathing sounds became the best lines.

These imperial officers, who had fought bloody battles and carried the lives of countless men, suppressed their anger and looked at Churchill, the King of the United Kingdom, and all the members of parliament sitting opposite them with eyes that had taken the lives of countless invaders.

A murderous aura, almost solidified, flowed slowly.

Until the entire conference hall was submerged.

The temperature in September is not hot and humid; in fact, it can be described as rather cool.

At this moment, Churchill, Asquith, the King, and the members of parliament of the United Kingdom all felt a chill run through their bodies.

Some of the older members of parliament unconsciously crossed their arms over their chests, while others appeared restless, their whispers initially growing louder before unexpectedly disappearing completely.

Asquith's unease began to grow stronger.

His subconscious was warning him to immediately stop Churchill from making his next statement.

But he didn't understand why he had this thought.

The King of the United Kingdom looked at the Emperor sitting opposite him.

Having no experience in combat, he not only didn't understand why the Empire would make such a statement, but also didn't understand why Rein's few words could stir up the emotions of all the people of the Empire.

Beneath that murderous aura that almost solidified into reality, he felt puzzled, confused, worried, and gradually became fearful.

aside.

The light from the magnesium powder bulb seemed to have a bluish tint, and it no longer looked as warm as it used to.

Churchill blinked rapidly and unconsciously, feeling as if the light around him had become colder.

Churchill felt that Renn's statement lacked a sense of justice, and even thought that Renn's words were purely an attempt to use the momentum of the entire Imperial Army to force the Kingdom to make greater concessions on the matter of Farland.

These ignorant, stupid imperial pigs.

He cursed inwardly.

But what they said was a completely different story.

“Your Excellency Caesar of the Empire,” Churchill said, looking at the Emperor, then at all the Imperials, and finally at Raine, “my dear Imperial friend, and Colonel Frieze.”

"Please allow me to offer my sincerest apologies. I wish to retract my previous remarks and repent for my rudeness and offense."

He bowed slightly, as if he were in a church, facing a priest.

Raine remained silent, and neither did anyone in the Empire.

They were looking at Churchill.

Silence, indifference.

Immediately afterwards, Churchill straightened his chest and raised his large head.

He thought he was full of sincerity and very fair.

he said.

"As an ally of Farland, the Kingdom is well aware that the Republic of Farland has played an extremely despicable role as an aggressor in this war."

"Therefore, the Kingdom did not join this dirty war of aggression as an ally of Farland after the war began."

"But the empire's strength is beyond our expectations."

"The valiant soldiers of the Empire swiftly crushed the forces of Farlan, and marched triumphantly, like a knight's lance piercing straight into the heart of Farlan."

"We believe this is a great victory for the invaded empire. And we firmly believe that the empire will inevitably become the final winner of this war against the imperial France in the near future, just like it did decades ago."

Churchill swallowed.

He looked at the imperial representatives whose expressions had softened.

He looked nervous because he knew that his next words would determine the final outcome of the meeting.

he continued.

"As an ally of Farland, the Kingdom condemns, in principle, the Farland government and military's act of launching a war of aggression."

"But we also want to protect the innocent civilians on Farland as allies."

"War is merciless, war is abhorrent, war is filthy."

"But the people of Farland are innocent."

Churchill's voice was heavy and excited, then turned high-pitched.

He extended his left hand and waved it towards the imperial officers behind the emperor:
"The Empire has won the vast majority of victories in this war."

"In the foreseeable future, the empire will inevitably achieve final victory."

"But now it's autumn, the most important time of the year."

"We implore the Empire to pause the war and allow the people of Farland, who are suffering from the war, enough time to work and get through this winter."

“We know this request is demanding, but the kingdom’s sincerity remains unchanged.”

"We will agree to all the proposals put forward by the Empire and give the Empire all the same preferential treatment."

"As for the attitude I just mentioned, it's quite simple."

"We hope that the Empire can guarantee that from the day after this meeting ends until February of next year, the Empire will not launch an attack on Farland."

"In return."

"The Kingdom Government and the King will endorse any retaliatory action launched by the Empire against any possible threat in order to ensure the security of the territory."

"The Kingdom's government and the King also recognize, support, agree with, and allow the Empire to station troops in the Verdun region of France."

After Churchill finished speaking, he finally looked at the Emperor.

"Your Excellency Caesar of the Empire, are you satisfied with this proposal?"

(End of this chapter)